"The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. "And in this place I will give peace," says the Lord of hosts. Haggai 2:9
As in times past we have talked about the glory of the latter house exceeding the former and that the shaking preceded the glory of the latter house. If we cross reference verse 6 in Haggai with Hebrews 12:26,27, the shaking precedes the revelation of His unshakeable kingdom. The former house was Solomon's temple, but the latter house is the saints of God.
You are the temple. Look at what the scriptures have to say.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 1Cor. 6:19
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.
2Cor.16:16
Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:20-22
The former temple referred to in Haggai was Solomon's temple which was considered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. It was an unbelievable structure and in terms of today's money it was estimated to be valued at 5 billion dollars a number of years ago, so I am sure that figure has gone up. It was glorious. During the time of Ezra when the temple was being rebuilt, the elders wept remembering the former glory of the temple. So when God says the latter glory will be greater than the former, He was not speaking of physical value; He was speaking of the Spirit. As I was pondering this I thought of Moses on the mountain receiving the law. When he came down his face glowed and he put a veil over his face to cover the fading glory. The scripture goes on to say if that which was passing away was glorious then how much more glorious would be the ministry of the Spirit.
If we look at the temple in the old testament as a type of us, we can make some interesting and I believe applicable observations. In Ezekiel 47 we see the water from under the threshold of the temple becoming a huge body of life giving water. He who believes in Me as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:38 Also at the dedication of Solomon's temple there were the 120 trumpeters who blew in unison and the shekinah glory of God filled the temple so that the priests were not able to stand in the flesh to minister. Sounds kind of like Pentecost with 120 in one accord in the upper room and when they were filled they ministered by the Spirit.
Jesus said that He had given us the glory that the Father had given Him, so that we might be one. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of glory and He has been given to us to be in us and upon us for empowering us to
"re-present" Jesus. We are called to be carriers of His presence. Even as the ark of God was to be carried upon sanctified shoulders, the presence of God is to be carried by the sanctified (saints). Collectively we are the temple and individually we are temples of the Holy Spirit. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the glory revealed in you is the glory of the Father via the Son. You are the latter house.
We have spoken in times past of the shaking and surely there is a shaking in many of our lives right now. If you are one of those being shaken, you can be encouraged in the fact that the shaking preceded a greater revelation of His glory and the receiving of an unshakeable kingdom. I pray you will be encouraged today by the Lord's presence.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Don't Stop at the End of the Chapter
Dear friend,
I hope you are well. I've been thinking about how awesome the scriptures are and it seems that the more the Lord reveals to me, there is the realization that there is so much more. There was a time in my early Christian walk when I read the Bible because that was what I was supposed to do. I would read my assignment, rarely getting anything out of it. The chapters and verses formed the boundaries of what I was to read. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord and I have seen the personal application for my life and the beauty of God's truths interwoven together, the scriptures have become precious to me. Jesus said ,"My words are spirit and they are life." In the original texts there were no chapter and verse breaks and so if you stop at the end of a chapter you may miss something important. There are several chapters in the writings of Paul that begin with the word "therefore" and we have to look in the previous chapter to see what it was "there for". There is a harmony and flow to the scriptures and sometimes chapter breaks interrupt that flow. I want to give you three examples today that I believe will encourage you. I know they did me.
Then He said unto His disciples," The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37,38
Just as a side note, I spent many years praying for the harvest when one day an Evangelism Explosion instructor made the statement that Jesus didn't tell us to pray for the harvest.He said that the harvest is already out there, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. That changed my way of thinking.
That was The end of chapter nine, so what does Jesus do in chapter ten? He instructs them, gives them authority, and sends them out. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is the one who sends laborers into the field. Paul said in Romans 10, "and how shall they hear except someone preach and how shall they preach except they be sent?" In chapter 9 he says to pray for laborers to be sent and in chapter 10, He sends them.
When the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus very sorrowful. Jesus made the statement," How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Luke 18:24, 25
Those who heard it probably equated riches with the blessing of God and asked, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, " The things that are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:26,27 Now some have said Jesus was referring to small gates in the wall that a camel had to kneel to go through, but I heard a minister from Egypt say Jesus wasn't talking about a gate; He was talking about a sewing needle. That would definitely be an impossibility, but all things are possible with God. So in chapter 18, a rich man getting saved was an impossibility, but look in the very next chapter. Now behold there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Luke 19:2 Zacchaeus opened his home to Jesus and pledged to give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold that which he had taken wrongfully. And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9 So we see the impossibility of a rich man getting saved in chapter 18 and in chapter 19 we see God saving a rich man. That which is impossible with men is possible with God. That old camel just slipped right through that needle eye.
Let's look at the third example and there are probably many others. I can think of some others; many you can probably do so as well, but this was the most recent. I didn't get this directly from the Lord, but by way of another of His servants and it really blessed me. I could spend a lot of time here, but most of you know the story, so I'll briefly summarize it. When Jesus first went to the country of the Gadarenes he encountered a highly demonized man that we call the Gadarene demoniac. He was incorrigible. He had super human demonic strength. He fell at Jesus feet. You know the passage well; it is in Mark chapter five. Jesus cast this legion of demons out permitting them to go into the pigs and the pigs ran down and drowned in the sea. The people who took care of the swine went into the city and country and spread the word about what had happened. The people came to see and saw the one who had been demon-possessed clothed and in his right mind and they were fearful. The eyewitnesses gave their account and the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave. Jesus is not inclined to stay where He's not wanted and when he gets in the boat to leave, this man begged Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus , However, did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled." Mark 5:19,20 The Gadarene demoniac had now become the Gadarene evangelist.
That is so awesome, but that was not the end of the story. Jesus crossed over a second time. We can't be sure that it was the exact same place, but it was probably the same region. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land Gennesaret and anchored there. And immediately when they came out of the boat, the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Mark 6:53-55. If indeed it was the same region then we might ask, what made the difference in their response? I would like to believe that it was the testimony of one man who had been touched by Jesus. He wanted to go with Jesus, but he was sent to declare the good news.
You know it's nice to read the Bible through in a year or have a regular Bible reading, but it can become law or a work of the flesh apart from the Spirit. We would do better to meditate and read slowly asking the Lord to give revelation, and wisdom to understand and appropriate His truth. His words are spirit and life. Don't let a chapter or verse become your boundary, but flow with author. There are golden nuggets which can only be panned from the river of Life. Be encouraged today my friend, the chapters of our lives are still being written and that which you are experiencing now is but preparation for something yet to be written. Hope is an earnest expectation of a desired end.
Blessings,
Herb Dean
I hope you are well. I've been thinking about how awesome the scriptures are and it seems that the more the Lord reveals to me, there is the realization that there is so much more. There was a time in my early Christian walk when I read the Bible because that was what I was supposed to do. I would read my assignment, rarely getting anything out of it. The chapters and verses formed the boundaries of what I was to read. As I have grown in my walk with the Lord and I have seen the personal application for my life and the beauty of God's truths interwoven together, the scriptures have become precious to me. Jesus said ,"My words are spirit and they are life." In the original texts there were no chapter and verse breaks and so if you stop at the end of a chapter you may miss something important. There are several chapters in the writings of Paul that begin with the word "therefore" and we have to look in the previous chapter to see what it was "there for". There is a harmony and flow to the scriptures and sometimes chapter breaks interrupt that flow. I want to give you three examples today that I believe will encourage you. I know they did me.
Then He said unto His disciples," The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matthew 9:37,38
Just as a side note, I spent many years praying for the harvest when one day an Evangelism Explosion instructor made the statement that Jesus didn't tell us to pray for the harvest.He said that the harvest is already out there, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. That changed my way of thinking.
That was The end of chapter nine, so what does Jesus do in chapter ten? He instructs them, gives them authority, and sends them out. Jesus is the Lord of the harvest and He is the one who sends laborers into the field. Paul said in Romans 10, "and how shall they hear except someone preach and how shall they preach except they be sent?" In chapter 9 he says to pray for laborers to be sent and in chapter 10, He sends them.
When the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus very sorrowful. Jesus made the statement," How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Luke 18:24, 25
Those who heard it probably equated riches with the blessing of God and asked, "Who then can be saved?" But He said, " The things that are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:26,27 Now some have said Jesus was referring to small gates in the wall that a camel had to kneel to go through, but I heard a minister from Egypt say Jesus wasn't talking about a gate; He was talking about a sewing needle. That would definitely be an impossibility, but all things are possible with God. So in chapter 18, a rich man getting saved was an impossibility, but look in the very next chapter. Now behold there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Luke 19:2 Zacchaeus opened his home to Jesus and pledged to give half his goods to the poor and restore fourfold that which he had taken wrongfully. And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. Luke 19:9 So we see the impossibility of a rich man getting saved in chapter 18 and in chapter 19 we see God saving a rich man. That which is impossible with men is possible with God. That old camel just slipped right through that needle eye.
Let's look at the third example and there are probably many others. I can think of some others; many you can probably do so as well, but this was the most recent. I didn't get this directly from the Lord, but by way of another of His servants and it really blessed me. I could spend a lot of time here, but most of you know the story, so I'll briefly summarize it. When Jesus first went to the country of the Gadarenes he encountered a highly demonized man that we call the Gadarene demoniac. He was incorrigible. He had super human demonic strength. He fell at Jesus feet. You know the passage well; it is in Mark chapter five. Jesus cast this legion of demons out permitting them to go into the pigs and the pigs ran down and drowned in the sea. The people who took care of the swine went into the city and country and spread the word about what had happened. The people came to see and saw the one who had been demon-possessed clothed and in his right mind and they were fearful. The eyewitnesses gave their account and the Gadarenes asked Jesus to leave. Jesus is not inclined to stay where He's not wanted and when he gets in the boat to leave, this man begged Jesus that he might stay with Him. Jesus , However, did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled." Mark 5:19,20 The Gadarene demoniac had now become the Gadarene evangelist.
That is so awesome, but that was not the end of the story. Jesus crossed over a second time. We can't be sure that it was the exact same place, but it was probably the same region. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land Gennesaret and anchored there. And immediately when they came out of the boat, the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Mark 6:53-55. If indeed it was the same region then we might ask, what made the difference in their response? I would like to believe that it was the testimony of one man who had been touched by Jesus. He wanted to go with Jesus, but he was sent to declare the good news.
You know it's nice to read the Bible through in a year or have a regular Bible reading, but it can become law or a work of the flesh apart from the Spirit. We would do better to meditate and read slowly asking the Lord to give revelation, and wisdom to understand and appropriate His truth. His words are spirit and life. Don't let a chapter or verse become your boundary, but flow with author. There are golden nuggets which can only be panned from the river of Life. Be encouraged today my friend, the chapters of our lives are still being written and that which you are experiencing now is but preparation for something yet to be written. Hope is an earnest expectation of a desired end.
Blessings,
Herb Dean
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
That I May Know Him
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death... Philippians 3:10
This was a prayer I prayed for myself and it is a prayer our Lord delights to answer. As a pastor there were any number of times I had been misunderstood, rejected, disappointed, and used. Hurts and wounds along the way made me sometimes wonder, "How many times can you have your heart ripped out and still function?" It occurred to me one day as I was considering some things that had happened that God was answering my prayer.
There is an old gospel song that says, "Jesus knows your hurts; Jesus feels your pain." When we pray to know the fellowship of His suffering are we not asking to enter into and identify with His pain. It is the natural order that the power of the resurrection follows the fellowship of His suffering. He suffered and was crucified and then He was resurrected. In a very real sense we have been crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. If in Him we died, then with Him we are resurrected. This is established fact; it is a done deal, but Paul in his writing is speaking of something he is aspiring to, looking to attain.
That we may know Him is that desire for an ever increasing revelation of who He is, having an intimacy beyond human relationship. It will take eternity to experience and see the unfolding of who God is. I agree with Jonathan Edwards that heaven will be a continuing revelation of the awesomeness of our God. My vocabulary is not adequate to describe what I know of Him now. Paul surely knew Him as well as any one in scripture yet he was setting as His goal to know Him. We want to experience that knowing that continually changes and conforms us to His image.
Knowing the power of His resurrection was Paul's objective that he might attain to the resurrection in His own body. We have been resurrected, but we shall be resurrected. We have resurrection life dwelling in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:11 We want the power, but we don't want the suffering. The suffering came before the resurrection. I believe an essential key to walking in the power of the resurrection is the putting to death of the flesh. Isn't interesting that the first place the Spirit led Jesus, after He came upon Him, was the wilderness where He was tempted 40 days of the devil. Scripture then says Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. To know His power there must first be a death that takes place.
So what about the fellowship of His sufferings? Once again Paul, just as we have been, was baptized into Christ's death, so there must be more to the knowing of it than our spiritual position. Some of you have suffered persecution. Some of you have experienced rejection. Probably all of us have known the pain of disappointment. If we are experiencing these things for Jesus sake and His righteousness we are entering into or having communion with His sufferings. Jesus does know our hurts; He does know our pain. Look at just a small portion of the sufferings of Christ.
Rejection: 1) He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
2) After His discourse on bread from heaven where He spoke of them eating His flesh
and drinking His blood, all but the twelve left Him.
3) The rich young ruler ,whom Jesus loved, chose his riches rather than Christ.
4) From eternity past to that moment in time when Jesus took upon Himself our sin and
felt separation from the Father.
Betrayal: 1) Judas turned Jesus in for thirty pieces of silver.
2) Peter, one of the intimate three denied the Lord three times.
3) They all fled for their lives when He was taken captive.
Pain: There was both the physical pain and emotional pain of the beatings, the mocking, and
shame Christ endured on our behalf.
I think often about the Last Supper and how Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. I think about when He came to Judas and knowing fully well that very night Judas would turn Him over to authorities, He washed Judas' feet. He was serving and showing kindness to his betrayer. Later, He would suffer unbelievable abuse on behalf of not only you and me, but the ones who put Him to death. He died for the one who held the whip, the one who hammered the nails. There is key to how Jesus could so freely give of Himself in John 13.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments: and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples's feet... John 13:3-5
Jesus knew what He'd been given and He knew where He was from and He knew where He was going. How about you? Do you know you been made to be joint heirs with Christ and that He gave you authority and that your ultimate end is with Him? Do you know you have been born of God and you will go to God? If you know who you are, you can be a servant, even to those who would betray you. You can bless those who curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you.
But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. I you are reviled for the sake of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit and glory of God rests upon you. 1Peter 4:13-14
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
I can pray with confidence that if I want to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, He will answer and not necessarily in that order. The answer might not always be pleasant, but it will have a good work. May Christ give you an ever increasing revelation of Himself.
Amen
This was a prayer I prayed for myself and it is a prayer our Lord delights to answer. As a pastor there were any number of times I had been misunderstood, rejected, disappointed, and used. Hurts and wounds along the way made me sometimes wonder, "How many times can you have your heart ripped out and still function?" It occurred to me one day as I was considering some things that had happened that God was answering my prayer.
There is an old gospel song that says, "Jesus knows your hurts; Jesus feels your pain." When we pray to know the fellowship of His suffering are we not asking to enter into and identify with His pain. It is the natural order that the power of the resurrection follows the fellowship of His suffering. He suffered and was crucified and then He was resurrected. In a very real sense we have been crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. If in Him we died, then with Him we are resurrected. This is established fact; it is a done deal, but Paul in his writing is speaking of something he is aspiring to, looking to attain.
That we may know Him is that desire for an ever increasing revelation of who He is, having an intimacy beyond human relationship. It will take eternity to experience and see the unfolding of who God is. I agree with Jonathan Edwards that heaven will be a continuing revelation of the awesomeness of our God. My vocabulary is not adequate to describe what I know of Him now. Paul surely knew Him as well as any one in scripture yet he was setting as His goal to know Him. We want to experience that knowing that continually changes and conforms us to His image.
Knowing the power of His resurrection was Paul's objective that he might attain to the resurrection in His own body. We have been resurrected, but we shall be resurrected. We have resurrection life dwelling in us in the person of the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:11 We want the power, but we don't want the suffering. The suffering came before the resurrection. I believe an essential key to walking in the power of the resurrection is the putting to death of the flesh. Isn't interesting that the first place the Spirit led Jesus, after He came upon Him, was the wilderness where He was tempted 40 days of the devil. Scripture then says Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. To know His power there must first be a death that takes place.
So what about the fellowship of His sufferings? Once again Paul, just as we have been, was baptized into Christ's death, so there must be more to the knowing of it than our spiritual position. Some of you have suffered persecution. Some of you have experienced rejection. Probably all of us have known the pain of disappointment. If we are experiencing these things for Jesus sake and His righteousness we are entering into or having communion with His sufferings. Jesus does know our hurts; He does know our pain. Look at just a small portion of the sufferings of Christ.
Rejection: 1) He came unto His own and His own received Him not.
2) After His discourse on bread from heaven where He spoke of them eating His flesh
and drinking His blood, all but the twelve left Him.
3) The rich young ruler ,whom Jesus loved, chose his riches rather than Christ.
4) From eternity past to that moment in time when Jesus took upon Himself our sin and
felt separation from the Father.
Betrayal: 1) Judas turned Jesus in for thirty pieces of silver.
2) Peter, one of the intimate three denied the Lord three times.
3) They all fled for their lives when He was taken captive.
Pain: There was both the physical pain and emotional pain of the beatings, the mocking, and
shame Christ endured on our behalf.
I think often about the Last Supper and how Jesus demonstrated servant leadership. I think about when He came to Judas and knowing fully well that very night Judas would turn Him over to authorities, He washed Judas' feet. He was serving and showing kindness to his betrayer. Later, He would suffer unbelievable abuse on behalf of not only you and me, but the ones who put Him to death. He died for the one who held the whip, the one who hammered the nails. There is key to how Jesus could so freely give of Himself in John 13.
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments: and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples's feet... John 13:3-5
Jesus knew what He'd been given and He knew where He was from and He knew where He was going. How about you? Do you know you been made to be joint heirs with Christ and that He gave you authority and that your ultimate end is with Him? Do you know you have been born of God and you will go to God? If you know who you are, you can be a servant, even to those who would betray you. You can bless those who curse you and pray for those who despitefully use you.
But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. I you are reviled for the sake of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit and glory of God rests upon you. 1Peter 4:13-14
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
I can pray with confidence that if I want to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, He will answer and not necessarily in that order. The answer might not always be pleasant, but it will have a good work. May Christ give you an ever increasing revelation of Himself.
Amen
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Fear of the Lord is Clean
Dear friends,
I pray that you are well. I have been preaching through the book of Acts and it has been very eye-opening. I have been in chapter 5 for three weeks now and in dealing with the passage on Ananias and Sapphira it became increasingly apparent that in the 21st century church we have lost the fear of the Lord. I want to talk a little about that today. As always I pray this will be a blessing to you.
Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. Acts 5:10,11
Can you imagine, one of those young men goes home and tells his family, "We had an exciting time at church today, two people dropped dead!" I am not sure what that might do to the next weeks attendance.
Was that fear a good thing or a bad thing? Look at the following scriptures with the understanding that there were no chapter or verse breaks in the original. What do we see in verses 12 through 16?
1. Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the apostles.
2. They were all in one accord.
3. Even those who did not join the church had great esteem for them.
4. Multitudes were saved.
5. All the sick and demonically tormented that were brought to them were healed.
I'd like to add a few thoughts on what we see there. Years ago I heard a couple of preachers speak of a coming revival which would come in four stages. The four stages were:
1) Intimacy
2) Purity
3) Unity
4) Power
I believe these stages were evident here and that the fear of the Lord is the catalyst in each of these stages.They were in one accord. In the verse used for the title, the fear of the Lord is clean, the word clean in Hebrew means pure, clean, purified, unalloyed. We cannot have unity without purity of heart, purity of motives. Do we dare assemble in the presence of a holy God with impure motives in our heart. Tradition says a rope was tied around the ankle of the priest so He could be dragged out if he died in the Holy of Holies.
Intimacy and purity are closely related. How can I get close to God if I refuse to walk in purity.
The psalmist asks in Psalms 15, "Lord who may abide in Your holy tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?" Again, he says in Psalms 24,"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart...."
It seems that David's greatest fear in his psalm of contrition, Psalms 51, was losing the Lord's presence."Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:11. It seems to me that one of the facets of the fear of the Lord is fear of losing intimacy with Him. I am thankful, that I can come boldly before His throne and receive mercy and find grace in my time of need and if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. We have a loving and forgiving Father who is approachable, full of mercy and grace, but He is holy. Where sin abounds grace does much more abound, so what shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? Can we continue in sin and it not affect our relationship with the Father? I think not. We reject grace if we continue to sin. Consider this for example, unforgiveness is rejecting God's grace. Jesus clearly states if we do not forgive, we'll not be forgiven. To harbor unforgiveness is to reject grace and the fear of the Lord.
Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit...? ......you have not lied to men but to God. Acts 5:3a;4b
It seems that Ananias had allowed the enemy place in his heart. The deception he devised could be categorized as the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. He wanted the money and the praise of men as well. In his impure motives he lied to the Holy Spirit. We can quench the Spirit and we can grieve the Spirit. It grieves the Spirit to give anything else His place and to quench the Spirit is like crimping a water hose. the Spirit gives life, but any place we give to the enemy in our heart, he will work death in. I hate to say this but there are those who have quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit for so long that they are like Sampson when his hair was cut; he did not know the Lord had departed from him. There are many who are not walking in the fullness that God has for them. There are many in the church in whom the enemy is working death.
Friends, I say this in fear and trembling, but I feel I must say it. Much of the American church has lost the fear of the Lord. Notice that those who wouldn't dare join them had high esteem for them. It seems that our society has lost its esteem for the church. Over the last few years our church has been broken into many times, we have lost thousands of dollars from people stealing copper from our air conditioning units, and have often been vandalized. When I tell someone about it, they are stunned and often respond,"They'd do that to a church?". This is what I feel God is showing me about our society. Much of society does not esteem the church because the church has lost the fear of the Lord. What the church fails to teach and model before the world will not only be absent in the church, but its absence will be multiplied exponentially in society.
In Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord tendeth to life. Psalms 34 says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. In both the Psalms and Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There are many promises for those who walk in the fear of the Lord. the fear of the Lord is a reverential awe. The awesomeness of God brings terror to our flesh. I have come to see the fear of the Lord as not allowing anything that would in any way hinder my relationship with Him. The fear of the Lord is pure; it is clean and it positions me for His power to flow through me.
I believe that as we see God move again in the church, the days of Ananias and Sapphira will return. There will be intimacy, purity, unity, and power. We choose the fear of the Lord.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
I pray that you are well. I have been preaching through the book of Acts and it has been very eye-opening. I have been in chapter 5 for three weeks now and in dealing with the passage on Ananias and Sapphira it became increasingly apparent that in the 21st century church we have lost the fear of the Lord. I want to talk a little about that today. As always I pray this will be a blessing to you.
Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. Acts 5:10,11
Can you imagine, one of those young men goes home and tells his family, "We had an exciting time at church today, two people dropped dead!" I am not sure what that might do to the next weeks attendance.
Was that fear a good thing or a bad thing? Look at the following scriptures with the understanding that there were no chapter or verse breaks in the original. What do we see in verses 12 through 16?
1. Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the apostles.
2. They were all in one accord.
3. Even those who did not join the church had great esteem for them.
4. Multitudes were saved.
5. All the sick and demonically tormented that were brought to them were healed.
I'd like to add a few thoughts on what we see there. Years ago I heard a couple of preachers speak of a coming revival which would come in four stages. The four stages were:
1) Intimacy
2) Purity
3) Unity
4) Power
I believe these stages were evident here and that the fear of the Lord is the catalyst in each of these stages.They were in one accord. In the verse used for the title, the fear of the Lord is clean, the word clean in Hebrew means pure, clean, purified, unalloyed. We cannot have unity without purity of heart, purity of motives. Do we dare assemble in the presence of a holy God with impure motives in our heart. Tradition says a rope was tied around the ankle of the priest so He could be dragged out if he died in the Holy of Holies.
Intimacy and purity are closely related. How can I get close to God if I refuse to walk in purity.
The psalmist asks in Psalms 15, "Lord who may abide in Your holy tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?" Again, he says in Psalms 24,"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands and a pure heart...."
It seems that David's greatest fear in his psalm of contrition, Psalms 51, was losing the Lord's presence."Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:11. It seems to me that one of the facets of the fear of the Lord is fear of losing intimacy with Him. I am thankful, that I can come boldly before His throne and receive mercy and find grace in my time of need and if I confess my sin He is faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. We have a loving and forgiving Father who is approachable, full of mercy and grace, but He is holy. Where sin abounds grace does much more abound, so what shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? Can we continue in sin and it not affect our relationship with the Father? I think not. We reject grace if we continue to sin. Consider this for example, unforgiveness is rejecting God's grace. Jesus clearly states if we do not forgive, we'll not be forgiven. To harbor unforgiveness is to reject grace and the fear of the Lord.
Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit...? ......you have not lied to men but to God. Acts 5:3a;4b
It seems that Ananias had allowed the enemy place in his heart. The deception he devised could be categorized as the lust of the flesh and the boastful pride of life. He wanted the money and the praise of men as well. In his impure motives he lied to the Holy Spirit. We can quench the Spirit and we can grieve the Spirit. It grieves the Spirit to give anything else His place and to quench the Spirit is like crimping a water hose. the Spirit gives life, but any place we give to the enemy in our heart, he will work death in. I hate to say this but there are those who have quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit for so long that they are like Sampson when his hair was cut; he did not know the Lord had departed from him. There are many who are not walking in the fullness that God has for them. There are many in the church in whom the enemy is working death.
Friends, I say this in fear and trembling, but I feel I must say it. Much of the American church has lost the fear of the Lord. Notice that those who wouldn't dare join them had high esteem for them. It seems that our society has lost its esteem for the church. Over the last few years our church has been broken into many times, we have lost thousands of dollars from people stealing copper from our air conditioning units, and have often been vandalized. When I tell someone about it, they are stunned and often respond,"They'd do that to a church?". This is what I feel God is showing me about our society. Much of society does not esteem the church because the church has lost the fear of the Lord. What the church fails to teach and model before the world will not only be absent in the church, but its absence will be multiplied exponentially in society.
In Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord tendeth to life. Psalms 34 says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. In both the Psalms and Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There are many promises for those who walk in the fear of the Lord. the fear of the Lord is a reverential awe. The awesomeness of God brings terror to our flesh. I have come to see the fear of the Lord as not allowing anything that would in any way hinder my relationship with Him. The fear of the Lord is pure; it is clean and it positions me for His power to flow through me.
I believe that as we see God move again in the church, the days of Ananias and Sapphira will return. There will be intimacy, purity, unity, and power. We choose the fear of the Lord.
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Dear friends,
I pray you are well. I, as many of you, have a cry in my heart for revival in our nation. So what is revival? I really feel that revival comes as a result as a greater revelation of God's glory. The revelation of His glory reveals our lack thereof. I believe that is why the revivals of the past were marked with repentance and confession. I am convinced that what the church needs today is not more preaching and teaching and I am by no means lessening their importance. Too often there is a lack of understanding of the word and a lack of spiritual depth. Those are essentials, but what we really need in our churches today is a God encounter. Let's look at a few "close encounters of the divine kind."
Jacob- Jacob had a couple of God encounters. The first was through a dream after he had left home and was heading to Haran. The dream was of angels ascending and descending upon a ladder into heaven. It is interesting that Jesus said to Nathan that he would see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. I can't help but believe that ladder represented Jesus who is our access to heaven and the Father. Jacob set up a pillar there, poured oil upon it, called the place Bethel (House of God) and made a vow unto the Lord. That was in Genesis 28. In Genesis 32 he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord believed to be the pre-incarnate Christ and he was changed. He received a name change from heel-grabber to Prince with God. A God encounter can change your name.
Job- Job was described as a blameless and upright man, and one who feared God and shunned evil. In His distress he refused to speak evil against God, but he held fast to his own righteousness. It seemed he had things figured out despite his friends' objections, when God showed up. After the Lord had challenged Job, this man among men could only admit that he spoke of things he knew not and finished his response with these words, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." A God encounter will quickly expose any pride or self-righteousness.
Isaiah- Isaiah was an established prophet when in a sad and desperate time, he received a vision of the Lord. In Isaiah 6 we read of what he saw and heard. What was Isaiah's response to seeing God? "Woe is me, for I am undone! (ruined) Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. A God encounter revealed his iniquity. He was cleansed, commissioned, and sent.
Peter- Jesus got in his boat. They had already stopped fishing and were cleaning their nets.They had caught nothing. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the multitudes and after a while Jesus told them to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch." Reluctantly they obeyed Him and when the haul was so great the boats were in danger of sinking, he didn't say, "Wow! Jesus how about joining up with us and be our fish finder." I think he realized at that point that Jesus was more than a teacher and he was broken before Him.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Instead of Jesus departing, Peter would change his pursuit and become a fisher of men.
In looking at moves of God in the past, they may have manifested themselves in slightly different ways among different groups of people but the common factor in all of them was the manifest presence of God. The essence of His glory is His goodness. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
It is not only the extension of His goodness to us, but also the revelation of His goodness that reveals man's lack thereof. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Lord, we ask for a greater revelation of your glory in Your church and this earth. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I pray you are well. I, as many of you, have a cry in my heart for revival in our nation. So what is revival? I really feel that revival comes as a result as a greater revelation of God's glory. The revelation of His glory reveals our lack thereof. I believe that is why the revivals of the past were marked with repentance and confession. I am convinced that what the church needs today is not more preaching and teaching and I am by no means lessening their importance. Too often there is a lack of understanding of the word and a lack of spiritual depth. Those are essentials, but what we really need in our churches today is a God encounter. Let's look at a few "close encounters of the divine kind."
Jacob- Jacob had a couple of God encounters. The first was through a dream after he had left home and was heading to Haran. The dream was of angels ascending and descending upon a ladder into heaven. It is interesting that Jesus said to Nathan that he would see angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. I can't help but believe that ladder represented Jesus who is our access to heaven and the Father. Jacob set up a pillar there, poured oil upon it, called the place Bethel (House of God) and made a vow unto the Lord. That was in Genesis 28. In Genesis 32 he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord believed to be the pre-incarnate Christ and he was changed. He received a name change from heel-grabber to Prince with God. A God encounter can change your name.
Job- Job was described as a blameless and upright man, and one who feared God and shunned evil. In His distress he refused to speak evil against God, but he held fast to his own righteousness. It seemed he had things figured out despite his friends' objections, when God showed up. After the Lord had challenged Job, this man among men could only admit that he spoke of things he knew not and finished his response with these words, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." A God encounter will quickly expose any pride or self-righteousness.
Isaiah- Isaiah was an established prophet when in a sad and desperate time, he received a vision of the Lord. In Isaiah 6 we read of what he saw and heard. What was Isaiah's response to seeing God? "Woe is me, for I am undone! (ruined) Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. A God encounter revealed his iniquity. He was cleansed, commissioned, and sent.
Peter- Jesus got in his boat. They had already stopped fishing and were cleaning their nets.They had caught nothing. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the multitudes and after a while Jesus told them to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch." Reluctantly they obeyed Him and when the haul was so great the boats were in danger of sinking, he didn't say, "Wow! Jesus how about joining up with us and be our fish finder." I think he realized at that point that Jesus was more than a teacher and he was broken before Him.
Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" Instead of Jesus departing, Peter would change his pursuit and become a fisher of men.
In looking at moves of God in the past, they may have manifested themselves in slightly different ways among different groups of people but the common factor in all of them was the manifest presence of God. The essence of His glory is His goodness. Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
It is not only the extension of His goodness to us, but also the revelation of His goodness that reveals man's lack thereof. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Lord, we ask for a greater revelation of your glory in Your church and this earth. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength
Dear friends,
I pray that you are well in body, soul, and spirit. In meditating and praying this morning I was reminded of this sentence: The joy of the Lord is my strength. What does this mean to you? I can remember many years ago singing the little chorus whose only lines were this sentence. I had a pastor once who chided the congregation with "If you have the joy of the Lord, you need to tell your face!" It's sad, but true that many of the faces in the church do not radiate the joy of the Lord. Do people want what you've got or are they afraid they'll catch what you've got? If you'll indulge me this morning I would like to share a few thoughts on joy.
The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.
Let's analyze this sentence for a moment. I've found it helpful to diagram it like we used to in fifth and sixth grade. "The" is an article modifying "joy". "Joy" is the subject. It means to rejoice and be glad." "Of the Lord" is a prepositional phrase modifying "joy". It tells whose joy it is. It is the Lord's joy. "Is" is a linking verb and in this case equates "joy" with "strength" which is a predicate nominative. That means the subject, joy, is equivalent to strength. "Your" is a possessive pronoun used as an adjective telling whose strength. So let me simplify it by writing it this way: The Lord's joy equals or is my strength. Strength in the Hebrew means "fortified place". Think about that. His joy is my place of security, safety, and protection.
The psalmist writes ,In thy presence there is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." As I have said on a number of occasions that according to Paul that is our position. It may be that our condition doesn't always line up with our position, but it should increasingly do so. There is fullness of joy in His presence because the Lord is joyful. He is not up in heaven looking down with a fly swatter waiting for you to mess up. You are not a child of wrath; you are in Christ. If you are in Christ and Christ is joyful then how ought we to be?
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
If Jesus' joy remains in you your joy is full. If we walk in sadness then it might be that our joy tank is empty. So how do we get our joy tanks filled? We might ask another question, "How is your love life?" This may be an over simplification, but the key to your joy tank being full is abiding and walking in His love. Some of you can relate to this. Think back to when you fell in love. Were your steps a little lighter, the skies a little brighter and an overflow of joy in your heart. Could it be that what had happened in the Ephesian church in Revelation that they lost their joy. As the old song goes they lost "that loving feeling." They were faithful, they were still doing the stuff, but Jesus said they had left their first love. Had they lost that passion of young love? Were they operating with empty joy tanks?
God has not called us to sadness, but to joy. When the birth of Jesus was announced the angels heralded, "We bring you glad tidings of great joy!" The kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you look up the word wickedness in the Strong's you will find it is a very broad term and one of the definitions is actually prolonged sadness. There may be times when weeping endures for a night, but we are not to live there for extended periods of time.
Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies...Deut. 28:47,48a
They were cursed because they did not serve the Lord with joy. In the new covenant we have been delivered from the curse, but we still give the enemy access if we do not appropriate His provision. I know myself that there have been times when I allowed the weight of ministry to bring me low, and it was in those times that I took my eyes off the lover of my soul and focused on the problem. There was a season in my life that I lapsed into the idolatry of worshipping at the altars of disappointment. If our joy tank is empty we lose our protection. There was a season when I was extremely sensitive to my immune system. When I was full of joy in the Holy Spirit, I felt I could have walked through a den of disease, breathed diseased air or drink contaminated water and nothing would jump on me, because the Lord's joy was my fortified place. There were other times when I was angry, frustrated, or depressed that I felt my body's immunity was at the same level my joy tank was and I could feel my susceptibility. The enemy knows when to pounce.
Abide in His love and His joy will remain in us and our joy will be full. The Lord's joy is your place of safety. He loves you, so much.
Blessings,
Herb Dean
I pray that you are well in body, soul, and spirit. In meditating and praying this morning I was reminded of this sentence: The joy of the Lord is my strength. What does this mean to you? I can remember many years ago singing the little chorus whose only lines were this sentence. I had a pastor once who chided the congregation with "If you have the joy of the Lord, you need to tell your face!" It's sad, but true that many of the faces in the church do not radiate the joy of the Lord. Do people want what you've got or are they afraid they'll catch what you've got? If you'll indulge me this morning I would like to share a few thoughts on joy.
The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.
Let's analyze this sentence for a moment. I've found it helpful to diagram it like we used to in fifth and sixth grade. "The" is an article modifying "joy". "Joy" is the subject. It means to rejoice and be glad." "Of the Lord" is a prepositional phrase modifying "joy". It tells whose joy it is. It is the Lord's joy. "Is" is a linking verb and in this case equates "joy" with "strength" which is a predicate nominative. That means the subject, joy, is equivalent to strength. "Your" is a possessive pronoun used as an adjective telling whose strength. So let me simplify it by writing it this way: The Lord's joy equals or is my strength. Strength in the Hebrew means "fortified place". Think about that. His joy is my place of security, safety, and protection.
The psalmist writes ,In thy presence there is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." As I have said on a number of occasions that according to Paul that is our position. It may be that our condition doesn't always line up with our position, but it should increasingly do so. There is fullness of joy in His presence because the Lord is joyful. He is not up in heaven looking down with a fly swatter waiting for you to mess up. You are not a child of wrath; you are in Christ. If you are in Christ and Christ is joyful then how ought we to be?
As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
If Jesus' joy remains in you your joy is full. If we walk in sadness then it might be that our joy tank is empty. So how do we get our joy tanks filled? We might ask another question, "How is your love life?" This may be an over simplification, but the key to your joy tank being full is abiding and walking in His love. Some of you can relate to this. Think back to when you fell in love. Were your steps a little lighter, the skies a little brighter and an overflow of joy in your heart. Could it be that what had happened in the Ephesian church in Revelation that they lost their joy. As the old song goes they lost "that loving feeling." They were faithful, they were still doing the stuff, but Jesus said they had left their first love. Had they lost that passion of young love? Were they operating with empty joy tanks?
God has not called us to sadness, but to joy. When the birth of Jesus was announced the angels heralded, "We bring you glad tidings of great joy!" The kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you look up the word wickedness in the Strong's you will find it is a very broad term and one of the definitions is actually prolonged sadness. There may be times when weeping endures for a night, but we are not to live there for extended periods of time.
Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies...Deut. 28:47,48a
They were cursed because they did not serve the Lord with joy. In the new covenant we have been delivered from the curse, but we still give the enemy access if we do not appropriate His provision. I know myself that there have been times when I allowed the weight of ministry to bring me low, and it was in those times that I took my eyes off the lover of my soul and focused on the problem. There was a season in my life that I lapsed into the idolatry of worshipping at the altars of disappointment. If our joy tank is empty we lose our protection. There was a season when I was extremely sensitive to my immune system. When I was full of joy in the Holy Spirit, I felt I could have walked through a den of disease, breathed diseased air or drink contaminated water and nothing would jump on me, because the Lord's joy was my fortified place. There were other times when I was angry, frustrated, or depressed that I felt my body's immunity was at the same level my joy tank was and I could feel my susceptibility. The enemy knows when to pounce.
Abide in His love and His joy will remain in us and our joy will be full. The Lord's joy is your place of safety. He loves you, so much.
Blessings,
Herb Dean
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The God of Resurrection
Dear friends,
I pray you all had a glorious Resurrection Day and that you are experiencing His life in you. I'd like to share a word of encouragement with you this morning. We have all had dreams and visions that have died. Some are so dead that we may have given up any hope or possibility of them coming to pass. As I was praying in preparation for my message this past Sunday, I felt strongly impressed of the Lord that He was resurrecting dreams and visions in the lives of His servants. Is there a dream that you have had that has died. If so, this word may be for you. These words were quickened in my spirit, "Remember Joseph."
The dream of every Hebrew girl was to be a wife and mother. Barrenness was considered a curse and a shame. When Sarai married Abram, I am sure that having children was her dream and expectation. Many years passed. Her husband responded to the call of God and obediently followed God's direction away from the house of his father. Later Abram would enter into covenant with God and God changed his and Sarai's names. God gave Abraham great promises concerning his descendants when he as yet had no child.
When the promise tarried Sarah tried to bring the fulfillment of God's promise through her handmaiden, Hagar and indeed a child was born, but he (Ishmael) was a product of the flesh and would bring grief to her. Trying to fulfill's God's plan man's way reduces our faith to dead religion. Approximately 24 years after the promise of a son God visited them. When God reiterated His promise to them Sarah laughed within herself. She did not laugh out loud, but still God asked the question," Why did Sarah laugh?" He also asked another question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" What is our answer to Him? Circumstantially speaking, they were old. Not only were they old, but Paul makes it pretty clear in Romans that medically speaking, child-bearing for them was an impossibility.
And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead since he was about a hundred years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Romans 4:19
It sounds like Abraham was impotent and Sarah had already gone through menopause. It was impossible for her to conceive, but God resurrected her womb and made Abraham alive as well. In fact, we know Abraham went on to father other children after Sarah was gone. Abraham was 100 and Sarah about 90 when Isaac was born. Look at what Sarah said when he was born: "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." Laughter was a sign of joy. In Psalms 126 it says: When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Sarah was joyful and when people heard about what God had done, it made them joyful, too.
I wish I could look back and see what Joseph must have been thinking at the different stops along the way. Did his faith waver when he was in a pit, probably hearing his brothers talking about killing him? Did his dream die when he was tied to a camel on the way to Egypt to be sold as a slave. What must he have thought as he was being auctioned off? What about when he was arrested and thrown in jail? What did he think after the butler forgot him and he languished in jail for another two years. I don't know what he was thinking, I only know how I may have responded. His dreams were dead, but at God's appointed time they were fulfilled. At God's set time Isaac was born. At David's worst moment, he was days from being king of Judah. I know I have shared these things before, but I believe there is a set time coming for many of you.
There are many concerned about our nation because we have forsaken God and they believe we are headed for bondage and judgement. They might ask," How can we be successful with things like they are?" Don't you find it encouraging that as slaves in the most powerful empires of their day that Joseph and Daniel both ascended to high levels of leadership in pagan cultures? We have a future and a hope. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Do you have God-given dreams that have died? Our God is the God of resurrection. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." Our hope is in Him. Is anything too hard for the Lord? For promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is the judge; He puts down one and exalts another. Psalms 75:6,7
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
I pray you all had a glorious Resurrection Day and that you are experiencing His life in you. I'd like to share a word of encouragement with you this morning. We have all had dreams and visions that have died. Some are so dead that we may have given up any hope or possibility of them coming to pass. As I was praying in preparation for my message this past Sunday, I felt strongly impressed of the Lord that He was resurrecting dreams and visions in the lives of His servants. Is there a dream that you have had that has died. If so, this word may be for you. These words were quickened in my spirit, "Remember Joseph."
The dream of every Hebrew girl was to be a wife and mother. Barrenness was considered a curse and a shame. When Sarai married Abram, I am sure that having children was her dream and expectation. Many years passed. Her husband responded to the call of God and obediently followed God's direction away from the house of his father. Later Abram would enter into covenant with God and God changed his and Sarai's names. God gave Abraham great promises concerning his descendants when he as yet had no child.
When the promise tarried Sarah tried to bring the fulfillment of God's promise through her handmaiden, Hagar and indeed a child was born, but he (Ishmael) was a product of the flesh and would bring grief to her. Trying to fulfill's God's plan man's way reduces our faith to dead religion. Approximately 24 years after the promise of a son God visited them. When God reiterated His promise to them Sarah laughed within herself. She did not laugh out loud, but still God asked the question," Why did Sarah laugh?" He also asked another question, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" What is our answer to Him? Circumstantially speaking, they were old. Not only were they old, but Paul makes it pretty clear in Romans that medically speaking, child-bearing for them was an impossibility.
And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead since he was about a hundred years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Romans 4:19
It sounds like Abraham was impotent and Sarah had already gone through menopause. It was impossible for her to conceive, but God resurrected her womb and made Abraham alive as well. In fact, we know Abraham went on to father other children after Sarah was gone. Abraham was 100 and Sarah about 90 when Isaac was born. Look at what Sarah said when he was born: "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me." Laughter was a sign of joy. In Psalms 126 it says: When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Sarah was joyful and when people heard about what God had done, it made them joyful, too.
I wish I could look back and see what Joseph must have been thinking at the different stops along the way. Did his faith waver when he was in a pit, probably hearing his brothers talking about killing him? Did his dream die when he was tied to a camel on the way to Egypt to be sold as a slave. What must he have thought as he was being auctioned off? What about when he was arrested and thrown in jail? What did he think after the butler forgot him and he languished in jail for another two years. I don't know what he was thinking, I only know how I may have responded. His dreams were dead, but at God's appointed time they were fulfilled. At God's set time Isaac was born. At David's worst moment, he was days from being king of Judah. I know I have shared these things before, but I believe there is a set time coming for many of you.
There are many concerned about our nation because we have forsaken God and they believe we are headed for bondage and judgement. They might ask," How can we be successful with things like they are?" Don't you find it encouraging that as slaves in the most powerful empires of their day that Joseph and Daniel both ascended to high levels of leadership in pagan cultures? We have a future and a hope. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Do you have God-given dreams that have died? Our God is the God of resurrection. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." Our hope is in Him. Is anything too hard for the Lord? For promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south, but God is the judge; He puts down one and exalts another. Psalms 75:6,7
Be blessed,
Herb Dean
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